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Topic: A point of inquiry (Read 8014 times)

Just out of curiosity should I purchase a white pine? A nice one from Brent , I would really like to try my luck on these trees. I am keeping my small trees but they are going to be left somewhat alone for a while so that they thicken up. I will also be able to get a growing bed going this year so I am exited...but more on the topic which white pine should I get? I do live in Michigan so the cold is a concern.

I do not know many people in this area, I was informed by many sources including Boon to stay away from the local bonsai club. But the nurseries here stated the pine should be fine if protected from wind and extreme cold.

I do not know many people in this area, I was informed by many sources including Boon to stay away from the local bonsai club. But the nurseries here stated the pine should be fine if protected from wind and extreme cold.

I'm thinking of joining a bonsai club somewhere in Michigan if I can find a good one. Which one should I stay away from?

One caveat about JWP. They are quite hardy, and can take zone 4 winters no problem on their own roots, except, they don't like being too wet in winter. If you winter them outdoors, keep them sheltered from getting a lot of snow or rain during the winter thaws. They want to dry out a little (but not completely bone dry) between waterings.

Most named cultivars of JWP from southern nurseries are grafted on JBP. JBP roots are fine, supply good vigor, but they are at best a zone 5 hardy, so you shouldn't leave a JWP on JBP rootstock exposed to sub-zero F temperatures. These should get some winter protection from extreme cold.

Wayne Jope of Riverbend Bonsai grafts some of his named JWP cultivars to P. strobus. The beauty of this is that as understock, P. strobus will survive extreme cold no problem and does fine even with a long spell of saturated wet weather. Once the graft union is totally healed a graft on P. strobus should be able to endure zone 4 winters with no protection from temperature, though they will benefit from protection from wind and winter sun.

So if you pick up named cultivar grafted JWP, knowing the rootstock can guide you to how much protection to give in winter. Actually regardless the species of the root stock, you should protect grafted trees from extreme cold until the graft is totally fused with the scion, from my (dearly learned, a fatal mistake or two) experience, at least 5 to 10 years after the graft was made. But once a graft is a decade old, the species of understock will determine how much cold the JWP can take.

I winter my P. strobus for the last 2 decades simply by setting them on the ground, in the shade, out of the wind. I'm in zone 5, and even after the winter of 2013-2014 my P. strobus pulled through fine. So if you are shopping, look for grafts on to P. strobus if cold tolerance is a priority. Otherwise assume JBP was used as understock and protect as one would a JBP.

This is more of a direct question for people inMichigan. What nurseries sell JWP? None but one of the local ones have it. The "bonsai" place here has them at horrific prices given what you get. The have one tree that is marked at 599$ and more than 50% of the tree is completely dead, plus the soil stinks like rot. These are the guys that took my Arailla tree (it was awful , my first atempt at anything), and sold it for 55$ I got it for 6$. Anyway anyone know any nurseries?